Category Archives: Attractions Series

Welcome to this month’s Blogorail Orange Loop. Today we are sharing vintage Disney attractions and entertainment and a little Disney history.

Cinderella Castle stands watch over the Magic Kingdom!

Original Magic Kingdom Attractions

Hello everyone, and thank you for joining us today as we explore some vintage Disney on the Magical Blogorail Orange Loop! In my post today, I’m writing about my favorite Original Magic Kingdom Attractions. Have a look at my list, and let me know how my list compares with your list!

1) Peter Pan’s Flight

At the top of our favorite Original Attractions is Peter Pan’s Flight!

Our family loves Peter Pan’s Flight! It’s such a fun journey; as I said in a different post, when you enter the Magic Kingdom, it’s like you leave Florida, but when you enter Peter Pan’s Flight, it’s like you have totally left the Magic Kingdom behind. It’s that immersive. With Disney’s incredible use of forced perspective, you really do feel like you are traveling above the streets of London, and that you have left Wendy’s bedroom behind.

2) Haunted Mansion

The Haunted Mansion is one of Mike’s Favorites!

Another of my favorite Magic Kingdom Original Attractions is the Haunted Mansion. Like Peter Pan’s Flight, this attraction makes use of an Omnimover system for loading and unloading Guests into the attraction. There are some subtle (and also not so subtle) differences between the version in Liberty Square and the one located in Disneyland at New Orlean’s Square, but the premise is the same; who wants to be that 1,000th Happy Haunt? On a former post, we talked about where we would like to spend the night at the Magic Kingdom; for my wife, it was in the Haunted Mansion.

3) it’s a small world

Located across the path from Peter Pan’s Flight, it’s a small world makes our list!

As many of you already know, I’m sure, part of what makes “it’s a small world” special is the fact that it was originally on display at the 1964 World Fair in New York City. In addition, this attraction is just one of those attractions that I love because it automatically makes me happy. I sing the song, over and over again, I look at the decorations, I take pictures of hundreds of things, and I wave at the Cast Member who starts us on our journey. When I was a kid, I remember my Grandpa and I sitting in Pinocchio Village Haus by the windows that overlook the attraction, waving at boat after boat, and having them wave back at us. That’s a memory that I will never forget.

4) The Walt Disney World Railroad

The Roger E. Broggie is just one of the locomotives on the Walt Disney World Railroad!

Perhaps as a surprise to some of you (or perhaps not to my long term readers), the Walt Disney World Railroad is number 4 in our list of favorite Original Magic Kingdom Attractions. I’ve had a fascination with trains my entire life, starting with my first train layout I was given for Christmas as a child, and continuing on to now with the trains I have here at the house. What makes the Walt Disney World Railroad so special to me, though, is the nostalgia of it all; the ability to just travel through time to when railroad travel was much more common, and to be able to see a side of Disney that one doesn’t often see.

5) The Jungle Cruise

The Gorillas have taken over the Jungle Cruise!

Rounding out our top five is The Jungle Cruise, that one of a kind attraction that has a cult following. What I love about the Jungle Cruise is how corny the jokes are! Also, I love the history of the attraction, more so from the Disneyland perspective than the Walt Disney World perspective, but I like the history at the Magic Kingdom nonetheless.

So there you have it, my top five Magic Kingdom original attractions! Where does my list stack up against your list? Let me know in the comments, please, and thanks for stopping by today! Now, go check out the rest of the great posts my friends on the Blogorail have written for you!

For more vintage Disney, check out the other great posts from the Blogorail!

You know, to be honest with you all — and with myself, I might add — the early visits to Walt Disney World when I was a kid all those years ago are somewhat a fuzzy memory to me. For example, in my first trip, when I was 11 years old, I remember the feelings I experienced more than the attractions I rode. However, there is something from those early visits that I really do remember quite well, and today, I’m going to talk about it in Friday Flashback. That attraction is the old Skyway attraction.

For those that are younger than I and don’t know what the Skyway was, I’ll tell you. The Skyway was a special one-way transportation attraction that would take you from Fantasyland to Tomorrowland — or from Tomorrowland to Fantasyland. When you rode to either destination, you couldn’t continue back without getting back in line for a second trip. The Skyway was a suspended gondola type ride, where you were lifted into the air and suspended from a steel cable as your car was taken from one part of the Magic Kingdom to another. It was a whole level of freedom that you just didn’t get any other way, because you were able to look at the Magic Kingdom from a whole different dimension than you would normally get, and I LOVED the Skyway.

At it’s least, the Skyway was a nice, relaxing way to journey to another part of the park without tiring your feet any more than they already were. At it’s best, the Skyway was a way of seeing parts of the Magic Kingdom you never see anymore — a way to be above it all and reflect on the beauty of the park, how blessed you are to be able to experience it — and if you are a kid like I was — perhaps a way to tell your parents or grandparents thanks for taking you there!

The Skyway was an original opening day attraction at the Magic Kingdom, and had identical rides at Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland. The Magic Kingdom version of the Skyway attraction lasted the longest, being open until November 5, 1999 — over 28 years! Now, for your enjoyment, here’s a YouTube video of the attraction for you to enjoy!

Hello everyone, and welcome to the second in my series of favorite attractions! Last week, we took a look at my top 5 Magic Kingdom Attractions; today we are looking at my top 5 Epcot attractions! Does my list match up with yours? Read through, and then let me know your list in the comments below! Thanks for stopping by!

#5: Maelstrom

Maelstrom, located over in the Norway pavilion, is a boat ride that takes you through Norway’s past, present, and future as you see all of the ways that the seas impact the lives of Norwegians! It is fun, with trolls, polar bears, and oil rigs — as well as a drop near the end! It used to have a movie that would be shown at the end, but that isn’t shown very often anymore.

#4: The American Adventure

When it comes to history, especially the history of our great country, at Epcot, there is nothing that comes close to The American Adventure, a great show that features many of the great moments of our country’s history, but highlights on it’s most important aspect — the people!

#3: Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros!

The Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros is a boat ride in the Mexican Pavilion that takes you on a journey through Mexico to try and find Donald Duck! Jose Carioca and Panchito are your navigators as you look — and ultimately find — Donald Duck!

#2: Soarin’

Soarin’ used to be one of my least favorite attractions — but I’ve had a change of heart! This incredible ride takes you through the California countryside as you see the sights from a unique perspective — a hang glider! Sit back, relax, and enjoy the wonderful beauty, knowing that it’ll be okay, you won’t fall…

#1: Spaceship Earth

At number one, though, is my favorite attraction at Epcot — Spaceship Earth. This unique attraction, which takes you deep within the geodesic dome, shows you how far we have come in our communication methods — and leaves us wondering how far we can journey…at the end of the ride is a simulator to give you an idea of what your future might have in store for it, and don’t forget all the great things you can do in Project Tomorrow!

Honorable Mentions

Illuminations: Reflections of Earth — while not an “attraction” in the sense that I’m thinking, is still a great draw, and something I look forward to seeing every time we visit!

O Canada is one of my favorite shows, with it’s CircleVision 360 view of everything, and narration by Martin Short! Stop by and see it in the Canada Pavilion!

I hope you have enjoyed my top 5 attractions at Epcot! What are your top 5? Let me know in the comments, and thanks for stopping by!

Hello everyone! Next up in our Magic Kingdom Attraction Guide series is the fun little stand up comedian show, Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor! I think this is one of my favorite shows in all of Disney, because it changes with every audience! Here are the details about this attraction, located over in Tomorrowland:

Monsters Inc. offers some unique entertainment options for you, and it all starts before the show even begins! Did you know that you can text in a joke before the show starts, and it might be told during the show? Here’s how you do that:

While waiting in line, look at the TV monitors — occasionally Mike Wazowski will give instructions on what to do.

The joke is texted to 42319

You need to start your text with a special keyword that they will change, so look for the keyword on the monitor.

Include your first name and hometown so they can thank you if they use your joke.

If chosen, you’ll joke will be performed during the show! You’ll be famous, at least, you will be in the human world. :)

Additionally, some of the seats in the auditorium have special cameras — if you sit at the right one, you’ll be featured during the show at appropriate moments! It’s a lot of fun! One time, my brother-in-law Otis was the guy that was buying the whole audience Churros!

It’s Buzz Lightyear to the rescue! In our next Magic Kingdom Attraction Guide post, we’re looking at the shoot-em-up adventure located over on Tomorrowland’s main strip. Here are the parameters for this attraction:

From my experience, usually this attraction does not need a FastPass selection as the line isn’t usually that long, but FastPass is offered, so if you have one to burn, take advantage of it. The queue for this is fun, but not interactive, unless you count Buzz as interactive, as he does talk and move around. You are signing up to be a cadet to help Buzz fight the evil Emperor Zurg, and to do so, you will be in your specially designed spacecraft that spins so you can shoot all around you. For each target you hit, you’ll get points, and the higher your score, the better!

What is your high score on the game, or the high score of your kids? At the end, your score will help you determine what rank you achieve — my all time high score is 999,999, which, coincidentally, is the highest that the game will count to. Now, I’m not ace at flying and shooting to achieve that score — the ride stopped moving, but I was still able to shoot, and the points kept going up and up and up! So, definitely put an * next to that score for the record books, but it was fun anyway!

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